New Scientist

In this week’s issue: The unexpected discovery that it’s never too late for your brain to grow new neurons - and how to harness it. Grab a copy in shops now or download our app for digital editions newscientist.com/issue/3619/

This question was posed as part of New Scientist’s Last Word series, in which readers give scientific answers to each other’s questions. Here’s what our readers had to say newscientist.com/article/259…

Shallow-water coral reefs are at high risk of disappearing by 2075, the IUCN has warned at a UN biodiversity conference. The loss would decimate fisheries and speed up coastal erosion newscientist.com/article/259…

The controversial discovery that our brains can generate new neurons surprisingly late in life is now prompting a rethink of adult brain health, pointing the way to better treatments for stroke, dementia and depression newscientist.com/article/259…

Terence Tao, one of the world's great mathematicians, urges us to find empowerment in numbers in his new book Six Maths Essentials. Karmela Padavic-Callaghan is convinced newscientist.com/article/259…

This question was posed as part of New Scientist’s Last Word series, in which readers give scientific answers to each other’s questions. Here’s what our readers had to say newscientist.com/article/259…

In the early 2000s, Simon Baron-Cohen proposed his “extreme male brain” concept of autism. Now, as new studies progress our understanding of autism and diagnoses among women and girls rises, has Baron-Cohen’s perspective changed? newscientist.com/article/259…

Millions of old homes across the UK and Europe need insulating under net-zero strategies, and promising start-ups believe materials called aerogels could be the answer newscientist.com/article/259…

Minds I've Met review: Primatologist Frans de Waal's final book is a rich mix of memoir and science newscientist.com/article/259…

The King's Observatory in London, built on the orders of King George III so he could watch the 1769 transit of Venus, is up for sale. Feedback is interested – but not sure if our bank balance will stretch to the asking price newscientist.com/article/259…

This question was posed as part of New Scientist’s Last Word series, in which readers give scientific answers to each other’s questions. Here’s what our readers had to say newscientist.com/article/259…

The BBC has another game-changing hit in Blue Planet III, says Michael Le Page, with David Attenborough narrating and a smart dolphin newscientist.com/article/259…

Forever chemicals are renowned for their durability and their non-stick properties, but they persist for years in the environment. An alternative inspired by plants doesn't have the same problem newscientist.com/article/259…

The Age of Microbes review: Can tiny microbes pack a mighty punch in the climate battle? newscientist.com/article/259…

If aliens with technology similar to ours lived on a planet orbiting Proxima centauri (the next-nearest star), would we be able to see unmistakable signs of a technological civilisation? Of life? And what is the advantage of eggs over live births? newscientist.com/article/259…

Northern bottlenose whales are more likely to stick together when individuals are poorly or emaciated newscientist.com/article/259…

This question was posed as part of New Scientist’s Last Word series, in which readers give scientific answers to each other’s questions. Here’s what our readers had to say newscientist.com/article/259…

On fast flights across the Atlantic, the body clocks of Manx shearwaters get out of sync with local time, leading them to veer away from the most direct flight path newscientist.com/article/259…

The high salt concentration in the Dead Sea drives the warming and shrinking of the lake, and something similar may have happened in the Mediterranean 5.5 million years ago newscientist.com/article/259…

Often described as a genius, physicist Sabrina Pasterski built and flew her own plane by the age of 16 and is now developing a mind-bending idea that could finally unify gravity and quantum theory newscientist.com/article/259…